Posted Record: 1-0 (+1 unit)
Hello my friends, hope you all had a profitable Opening Day. It certainly delivered on excitement. Thank you for your comments in yesterday's thread. I read them all and appreciate you. I also noticed a "fading Kaufee" thread 
. To be honest, it's kinda flattering and didn't bother me at all. No worries @bitcoin777.
There's a limited number of appealing games today, but one in particular drew my attention. I like the Red Sox to take another game from Texas and here's why:
1) Tanner Houck is a very good pitcher, and he was great last season. Over 30 starts and 178.2 innings of work - He pitched to a 3.12 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.5 WAR, 3.55 FIP, with 154 strikeouts. His two best pitches are his slider at 83 mph and his sinker at 94 mph. They both come out of his hand with similar arm speed and release point, making it difficult for hitters to differentiate. He mixes in splitters, cutters, and keeps a lineup honest with his mid 90's fastball.
2) Jack Leiter has the pedigree and potential to be a great MLB pitcher, and he likely will be someday. However, he hasn't proven he can succeed at the highest level yet. There's not enough meaningful data on Leiter to draw any real conclusions. Although, he was bad last year when he got the chance. In general, I just won't back rookie pitchers this early in the season. In fact, if a rookie is facing a veteran like Houck, I will almost always consider fading. And that's what we have here.
3) The Texas pen is pretty good, definitely in the top half (for now) of the league. However, the Red Sox have an elite pen. You'll find them in the top 10 in most rankings and personally, I think they're closer to top 5. Therefore, I also have to give the later inning advantage to Boston.
4) Lastly, I give Boston's offense the edge as well. They bring several good left-handed hitters to the table; Duran, Devers, Casas, and Abreu. Throw in Bregman and Story and it becomes an incredibly difficult lineup for Leiter to navigate through.
In conclusion, I don't really see an advantage for Texas anywhere. At a great price, I'll bite on Boston. I'm on the Sox at -109 for 1 unit.
Wish you all the best of luck. Cheers 
Agreed, taking Red Sox myself.
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